Alpine/Racing Board

[Siren 0]

I am thinking of trying out alpine snowboarding the coming season and have recently bought a Moss Accel alpine board (2003 model - not the cutting-edge board I know but I like the design).

 

Can anyone give me any advice (before I go to Jinbocho and make some expensive mistake) as to how to select the boots and binding that fit? The main question I have in mind is whether any binding is fine as long as the boots fit?

 

Grateful for your advice

[badmigraine 0]

Hi Siren

 

I'm no expert myself, and, frankly speaking, you are ahead of me in that you already bought an alpine/carving board

 

But you may wish to check out the BomberOnline site for basic as well as technical info, and friendly message boards where you can ask questions and get answers from people who've been there/done that.

 

They really are a supportive bunch...erm...in fact, they are all crazy. Because of this, I am putting in my application to join them as soon as I can scrape together the funds for the right kit...

 

Their "New Carver Welcome Center" has a collection of articles on basic stuff relating to gear and technique that might be of interest to you.

 

How about posting back here on the SJ site if you find anything particularly useful? I know I and Ocean 11 are thinking about getting a hardboots setup, and would welcome advice/anecdotes about how it all goes from A to Z.

 

Cheers,

 

badmigraine.

[Siren 0]

Hi Bad,

Many thanks for this (and for bringing forth the other related discussions on the forum) – I will definitely check out BomberOnline.

I have been putting off the decision to try out the alpine snowboard for a while and the reason was always the switch-over costs – the board, the boots and binding, the whole lot. Buying the board would commit me to action. I will definitely report back on the progress.

By the by, have you and Ocean worked out the hardboots – it seems that it is quite a tricky process as they have to be ‘bespoken’ to fit your feet as well as the bindings. If I can’t find anymore info on the net – I would probably ask for a fit by Viento. It cost a bit more but probably the safest way to do it.

FYI, if you can read Japanese (which I am sure you can) and don’t mind used equipment (and the hazards of online auction), Yahoo! Japan Auction site has quite a lot of alpine items from what I can see.

Bestest,

 

Siren

[Ocean11 0]

The boots really are the sticking point.

 

While the board and bindings can be bought safely online (with the benefit of advice from other people online!), the boots really require some intelligent, one-on-one help from a knowledgeable store clerk with access to a range of stock. Does this sound like the Alpen chain (which has a shop in Matsuyama), where the staff jump like frightened Chihuahuas when you approach them, and then take nearly 2 minutes of constipated grimacing to admit that sizes stop at 28, and no, ordering is not even possible?

 

I have an image of hard boots as being potentially very painful to wear, and forking over a lot for something that may hurt really doesn't appeal.

 

So, to stop moaning and answer your question, no I haven't checked out the hard boots at all. It sounds as though you're ahead of the game there Siren. I really need to pull my finger out and start doing some research. In the meantime, I'll be very greatful for any information you may find. I wonder if they actually have the sort of shops in Jimbocho that you need for buying boots. I've never been...

[badmigraine 0]

Siren, all true but not as bad as you would think! Skiers wear this type of boot and have for decades. I did myself until 1994. They never fit right and they always hurt...and when I bitched about it, I always heard that a proper fitting, footbed, moldable liner or etc. would have made all the difference.

 

The custom bootfitting threads come around fairly regularly on this site, but until now they've been limited to skiers, with only scattered hoots and catcalls from soft-boot snowboarders chortling over having left all that pain-and-pressure-point stuff behind years ago when they gave up skiing.

 

Ahem.

 

Now look at us wannabe hardbooters...it seems we can now enjoy the added expense and trouble of chasing down the right kind of custom footbeds, moldable liners, recommended bootfitters and so forth, just like skiers.

 

I vote for a new thread on hardboot fittings. This is getting complicated!

[Siren 0]

Hi Bad/Ocean,

 

Thanks for the further information. The only place I have actually seen the boot-fitting being done is the Ishii (ski) Sport Shop in Shin-Okubo and in relation to ski boots. When I was visiting the shop the shop assistant was explaining to a customer in front of something which looks like a glass box. The customer was bare-footed and they were obviously taking measurements and the assistant was apparently explaining to the customer about the box. Unfortunately I didn’t pay much attention at that time (two years ago). Around the same time (I was looking around to purchase a new snowboard), a shop assistant in a smaller shop in Jinbocho (can’t recall exactly which one now) told me that if I buy the hard boots, I could pick it up two days later after the ‘adjustments’are made. I didn't pursue that either

 

To summarise, I think the possibilities are:

 

Buy everything off the shelf and take our chance with pain-and-pressure-points – personally I think this is a bit irresponsible

 

At least some adjustment is necessary to fit the bindings, boots and feet properly (as suggested by the shop assistance mentioned above

 

Full fitting and moldable liners etc.

 

I will do a bit more research over the next two weeks and if we can’t find anything tangible, I will approach Viento as a first stop to enquire about the fitting.

 

I am all for starting a new thread on this stubborn little problem. Would the senior (and doubtless more distinguished) members of the Forum mind doing that?

 

Bestest

 

Siren

[Ocean11 0]

Suggestion - why not just edit your first post and rename the thread something like Hard Boots. That should do the trick. We can then keep this thread going until we're all kitted out.

[Siren 0]

Thanks Ocean. Not knowing how to edit the title etc as you suggested, I have started the new thread called “Hard Boots for Alpine/Racing Snowboard” and refer to this thread for background discussion.

 

Bestest,

 

Siren

[Ocean11 0]

Unforeseen difficulties!

 

Here's what to do;

Go to the first post in your thread, and click the Edit/Delete Post button ( )

Your post should appear with the title of the thread above it. Just change the title of the thread and then press Edit Post.

That changes the name of the whole thread.

 

(I had the devil a time figgering out to get those useful quotes into my posts...)

[Siren 0]

Is it how you do it?!!

 

Thanks!

[Siren 0]

By the by, how do I get a 5-star rating like you and Bad (who do I have to kill)?

[badmigraine 0]

There you go!

 

Usually you don't have to kill anybody...you have to do...uh...erm... something else!

 

Like admit your favorite Neil Diamond song is "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show", or that you once went on a date with a fleck of snot hanging out of one nostril.

 

People here love that kind of stuff!